HSH previews RV strategy, reports shelter capacity, new recovery and youth programs

San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Director Shereen McFadden on May 1 told the Homelessness Oversight Commission that the city is developing a multi‑pronged strategy to address people living in cars, oversized vehicles and RVs and previewed a set of shelter expansions and program changes aimed at preventing homelessness and increasing interim housing capacity.

McFadden said the number of vehicle‑dwelling households increased by 37% since 2022 to an estimated 1,444 households in the 2024 point‑in‑time count; a March 2025 Healthy Streets Operations Center (HSOC) field count found 472 occupied oversized vehicles. “Housing offers must be a rationally better choice than staying in a car or an RV,” she said, describing a strategy built around outreach, a dedicated RV/oversized‑vehicle task force, an RV outreach team that would pair SFMTA parking officers and homelessness outreach staff, and financial incentives such as an RV buyback program.

McFadden emphasized that the city plans to treat vehicle dwelling as a homelessness‑prevention issue and to design alternatives that preserve the autonomy and privacy people cite as reasons to stay in vehicles. She told commissioners that the city is still finalizing many operational details and will pilot interventions before wider rollout.

The director reviewed a range of system metrics for March and April 2025: HSH funds 13,511 units across supportive housing and rapid…